Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Active engagement with participating countries of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is needed to ensure the infrastructure being developed is in line with the affordability of the respective countries.

Former Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said mega-infrastructure undertakings like BRI were not without risks, as in recent years there have been some concerns expressed on debt sustainability.

He said this in turn would also have implications on economic growth and sovereignty.

YANGON, Myanmar, Aug 15 (NNN-MNA) – Myanmar’s Defence Services Technological Academy in Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay region, was attacked by an unidentified militant group, armed with heavy weapons on Thursday morning, said an official of the True News Information Team of the military.

The incident took place at about 05:00 a.m. local time, damaging parts of the academy.

SEREMBAN, Malaysia, Aug 15 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Irish teenager Nora Anne Quoirin died of gastrointestinal bleeding, probably due to the lack of food over a long time, and prolonged stress, it was revealed here today.

Negeri Sembilan Police chief Datuk Mohamad Mat Yusop said the autopsy on Nora Anne also found that she died two or three days before her body was found.

The body of the 15-year-old special-needs girl was found on Tuesday about 2.5 km from an eco-resort in Pantai here after she went missing on Aug 4, a day after she and her family checked in for a holiday.

SEOUL, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed Thursday to build a peace economy on the Korean Peninsula with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) through dialogue and cooperation.

Moon made the remarks in his address on the 74th anniversary of the Liberation Day to mark the liberation of the peninsula from the 1910-1945 Japanese colonization.

"We aim to establish a peace economy in which prosperity is achieved through peace and also complete our liberation through the unification of the peninsula," Moon said.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in offered an olive branch to Japan to end an ongoing trade dispute Thursday, saying Seoul will “gladly join hands” if Tokyo wants to talk.

Moon in a nationally televised speech also downplayed the threat posed by North Korea’s recent short-range ballistic launches and expressed hope that Washington and Pyongyang would soon resume nuclear negotiations.

SEREMBAN, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian police said Thursday there were no signs of foul play in the death of a 15-year-old London girl who mysteriously disappeared from a nature resort, with an autopsy showing she succumbed to intestinal bleeding due to starvation and stress.

Nora Anne Quoirin’s body was discovered Tuesday beside a small stream about 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) from the Dusun eco-resort after she disappeared from her family’s resort cottage on Aug. 4.

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower on Thursday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged on mounting fears of a possible recession.

Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong all retreated.

U.S. investors dumped stocks, sending the Dow into its biggest one-day drop of the year, after the yield on the 10-year Treasury crossed a threshold that has correctly predicted many past recessions.

14 August 2019; AFP: China reacted furiously Wednesday to "terrorist-like" attacks on its citizens by pro-democracy protesters during a second day of mass disruptions at Hong Kong's airport that turned violent.

The rallies, which had paralysed one of the world's busiest travel hubs, ended with ugly clashes on Tuesday night that included protesters beating two men.

SEREMBAN, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian doctors conducted an autopsy Wednesday to determine the cause of death of a 15-year-old London teen whose naked body was found nine days after she mysteriously disappeared from a nature resort.

Nora Anne Quinn’s body was discovered Tuesday beside a small stream about 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) from the Dusun eco-resort in southern Negeri Sembilan state, where she went missing on Aug. 4. The body was airlifted to a hospital, where she was positively identified by her parents.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday after the U.S. said it would hold off on tariffs of Chinese imports of mobile phones, toys and several other items typically on holiday shopping lists.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.2% in early trading to 20,691.10, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 6,598.50. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.3% to 1,951.33. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.3% to 25,618.67. The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.9% to 2,822.30.